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2016-11-30 08:56:10

GOOG

Alphabet

$770.84

2.6 (0.34%)

, GOOGL

Alphabet Class A

$789.44

3.65 (0.46%)

…08:56

11/30/16

11/30

08:56

11/30/16

08:56

Over 1M Google accounts attacked by malware since August, WSJ says

Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google has had over 1M accounts infected by malware since August, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing research from Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP). The malware, disguised as legitimate apps for Android devices, exploited known weaknesses in older versions of the Android operating system, and has been infecting 13,000 Android devices a day, according to Check Point. "We appreciate Check Point's partnership as we've worked together to understand and take action on these issues," a Google spokesman said in an emailed statement. Reference Link

Following the election of Donald Trump as President and the Republican sweep in D.C., large cap internet names, those with more international revenues, and China-based companies have been underperforming, noted Loop Capital analyst Blake Harper. Larger caps, such as Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Facebook (FB), could continue to see more pressure given the potential for more restrictive trade and antitrust policies, while internet companies the large majority of their revenues from the U.S. and a narrower market focus - such as Angie's List (ANGI), Care.com (CRCM), GrubHub (GRUB), Quotient (QUOT), Bankrate (RATE), LendingTree (TREE), TrueCar (TRUE) and Yelp (YELP) - should outperform in the near-term, contends Harper.

11/17/16

PIPR

11/17/16NO CHANGEPIPR

Piper sees Trump-related Internet selloff as 'rare opportunity'

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says he would be "buying the fear" priced into Internet mega-caps. Concerns of President-Elect Trump's impact on tech companies are being largely extrapolated from sound bites that are unlikely to manifest during Trump's presidency, Munster tells investors in a research note. The selloff in "best-in-class" large cap internet stocks Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG), Facebook (FB) and Netflix (NFLX) presents a "rare opportunity," Munster writes. He believes Trump's threats towards Amazon are without merit and that net neutrality is unlikely to be reversed. He finds the valuations for each of the mega-caps "very attractive."

11/18/16

OPCO

11/18/16NO CHANGEOPCO

Public cloud infrastructure market will be $62B by 2020, says Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan says "the race is on" for public cloud providers to get as much of their customers' data on their respective cloud platforms as possible. The analyst believes Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (MSFT), and Alphabet's Google (GOOG; GOOGL) have ambitions to become the dominant OS of the cloud, and to do so these companies will aim to have integrated solutions from the infrastructure layer to services through first-party offerings and/or the development of a strong partner channel. He views AWS as the primary wholesale cloud platform and Microsoft as the enterprise platform. However, given the relative immaturity of the market and the massive $1T opportunity, all three have been successful focusing on multiple segments, Horan adds, noting that he expects the public cloud infrastructure market to be $62B by 2020.

Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein notes that there has been a rotation into industrial and financial stocks post-election, at the expense of multinational technology stocks. However, he sees some potential positive catalysts for "FANG" names, namely Facebook (FB), Amazon.com (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and Google (GOOG; GOOGL), with the first two looking the most attractive at current levels. The analyst points out that Facebook's potential positive catalysts include faster than expected ad monetization driven by "Video First" strategy, Instagram engagement and Dynamic Product Ads. As for Amazon, he expects stable consumer spending to support a strong holiday shopping season.

GOOGLAlphabet Class A

$789.44

3.65 (0.46%)

11/10/16

STFL

11/10/16UPGRADETarget $1900STFLBuy

Stifel calls Priceline a dominant franchise, upgrades to Buy

Stifel analyst Scott Devitt last night upgraded Priceline (PCLN) to Buy from Hold and upped his price target for the shares to $1,900 from $1,650. The company, given its recent growth execution and ability to "navigate competitive and macro headwinds," fits alongside other dominant internet franchises such as Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Facebook (FB) and Alibaba BABA), Devitt tells investors in a research note.

After meeting with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) management, Imperial Capital analyst Michael Kim noted that they highlighted their strong win rates when customers conduct head-to-head evaluations. Kim, who believes the company is gaining share in the network security market at the cost of Cisco (CSCO) and Check Point (CHKP), keeps an Outperform rating and $190 price target on Palo Alto shares.

09/28/16

PIPR

09/28/16INITIATIONTarget $95PIPROverweight

Check Point initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Nowinski started Check Point Software with an Overweight rating and $95 price target. The company can meet and potentially exceed consensus estimates in FY17 "simply by maintaining its current market share," Nowinski tells investors in a research note.

09/28/16

09/28/16INITIATION

On The Fly: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Amazon.com (AMZN) reinitiated with a Buy at Nomura. 2. Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) coverage assumed with a Buy at GMP Securities. 3. Johnson Controls (JCI) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen. 4. Check Point (CHKP) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray. 5. Duke Realty (DRE) initiated with a Neutral at Mizuho. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

10/12/16

PIPR

10/12/16NO CHANGETarget $30PIPRNeutral

Piper sees Fortinet issues as company specific

Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Nowinski believes the issues that drove Fortinet's (FTNT) negative Q3 preannouncement are company specific. He lowered his price target for the shares to $30 from $33 and keeps a Neutral rating on the name. Nowinski points out that his firm's channel checks suggest demand has remained strong for both Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Check Point (CHKP). The analyst recommends adding to positions in both names following any pressure from the Fortinet miss.

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) initiated with a Neutral at Ladenburg. 2. CONSOL (CNX) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman. 3. Johnson Controls (JCI) assumed with an Equal Weight at Barclays. 4. American Midstream Partners (AMID) initiated with a Buy at Janney Capital. 5. Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) coverage resumed with an Outperform at Wells Fargo. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Argus with analysts John Eade and Katelyn Bayone citing the company's third quarter miss and what they see as its "challenging sales outlook for the remainder of the year." 2. Duluth Holdings (DLTH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel and to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. 3. DAVIDsTEA (DTEA) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital and to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. 4. Hilton (HLT) downgraded to Outperform from Buy at CLSA with analyst Jon Oh citing valuation. 5. Horizon Pharma (HZNP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. AstraZeneca (AZN) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Leerink with analyst Seamus Fernandez saying the recent weakness in shares provides an "excellent entry point" ahead of several critical pipeline events that have the potential "to transform this giant into an exciting growth story." 2. Autodesk (ADSK) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord with analyst Richard Davis citing expectations for improved free cash flow, as he sees a path to $6 in FCF by 2020 and $11 per share in 2022. 3. Eaton (ENT) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan with analyst Ann Duignan saying optionality of the company's balance sheet should offset broad weakness across its end markets. 4. Fluor (FLR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi with analyst Andrew Kaplowitz saying the company is positioned to outperform given amid oil and gas capex stabilization, a lift off the bottom in mining off the bottom and "muted" 2017 expectations. 5. Sysco (SYY) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.